On My College App Story

Congratulations to those of you who have completed and submitted your UC applications (which I believe was a while ago)!

In all honesty, I felt the UC applications were easier than the common apps, mostly because the common apps have so many restrictions as to the word limit and topic.

But now that the UC apps are done, you can focus all your time and energy on the common apps. ; )

Here's my college app story:

I started writing my stanford application towards the end of August (that's how badly I wanted to get in- needless to say, that didn't happen), but it was one of the last applications that I finished because I wanted it to be perfect. I also worked hard on my Ivy League applications but not nearly as much as I should have. I revised each essay (every college that I applied to had 2-3 essays) about 4-5 times because I was never satisfied with it. When winter break began, my family decided they were going to go to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. Unfortunately, they were leaving during the time apps were due, so naturally I couldn't go. They were gone for three days and for those three days, I sat in front of the computer madly trying to tie loose ends in my essays, surviving off of oranges and water the entire time- literally. We also got a puppy a few months before so I had to tend to him constantly. January 1st came and went and by that time, my entire computer screen was filled with word document icons for my essays (I applied to a ton of colleges).

And then, the only thing left to do was wait....

The wait was even worse than actually writing the applications (not to scare you or anything ; ). I'm not quite sure when the UC admission decisions came out, but when they did, my parents were so thrilled that I got into all of them, especially Berkeley and UCLA. I, on the other hand, had eyes only for Stanford (sad, I know). A month or so later, the common app schools began releasing their admission decisions. I got rejected from most of the schools, accepted by a few, and waitlisted by others. I was crushed by my rejections and even planned to make a dart board out of them...

I chose to go to berkeley for a number of reasons. First off, if it wasn't a highly prestigious school, I didn't feel like going to the east coast was worth it. So, I decided to stay in California for at least my undergrad. Second, Berkeley offered nice financial aid, which is always a bonus. Third, USC and UCLA (which were the other schools I was considering) had that air of superficiality about them that I didn't like so much. So, Berkeley it was. (Sad to say, I had anxiety attacks all throughout my decision making process)...

I thought 'I'm going to try to transfer to a different school as soon as I get the chance.' Since Berkeley wasn't my first choice, or second, or third, it was hard for me to accept the fact that i'll be having to go there. Then, when I attended orientation and got more situated, Berkeley slowly started to warm up on me. I'm not saying I love Berkeley 100%, but I think I'm getting there- one failed midterm at a time. : )

So my advice to seniors who are freaking out about college and this game we call College Admissions: work hard - really hard- these next few weeks on getting your applications just the way you want them, and then, throw down your pencil, take a deep breath, kick something (preferably not anything living), and then take a nap. You deserve it : ) Second semester of senior year, go crazy. As long as you don't fail your classes or drop significantly in grades, the colleges won't rescind your acceptance. Senioritis - bring it on!

Have fun with your friends, spend lots of time with your family, and just relax, because this is the only time when you can. Trust me, you'll thank me later for it. : )

-K